An NGO performing search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean has accused the Libyan coastguard of hampering an attempt to save more than 170 people making the perilous journey across the sea to Europe.
In a statement, Médecins Sans Frontières said its ship had come to the rescue of two boats in international waters on Saturday: a small fibreglass boat carrying 28 people and a double-deck wooden vessel with 143 people onboard, which appeared to be in distress. MSF said that as it approached the larger boat the Libyan coastguard also came near and ‘performed dangerous manoeuvres’ that put the people onboard, mostly Syrian refugees, at even greater risk.
In a video taken by crew on a support aircraft operated by the maritime rescue NGO Sea-Watch, a patrol vessel moves into position between two rigid dinghies operated by MSF, one of which has already started taking people onboard. The positioning makes it impossible for the second dinghy to move towards the vessel in distress
Libya coastguard accused of hampering attempt to save more than 170 people
